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2003silverado's avatar
2003silverado
Explorer II
Feb 19, 2017

Driving on beach in outer banks

I have a question for those who have been to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

My wife and I are staying at an inn on the Outer Banks for 5 nights the first week of April. This is our first trip to the Outer Banks, and I have always heard a major attraction to the area is simply driving on the beach. What I am curious about is how many miles of beach can you actually drive on? The reason I am asking is because we are traveling from Michigan and I know that in order to drive on the beach we will need to take our Silverado because we will need 4 wheel drive, rather than taking our Cruze which gets over twice the fuel milage, but obviously won't be able to drive it on the beach.

Personally, on longer trips I prefer the comfort and size of the truck, but economically the Cruze makes more since as we will not be taking the camper. I like the prospect of driving the beach if there are a number of miles of beach to drive on and see the sites, but if there is only a miles here or there to drive on it would make more since to drive the car and walk the beach.

What do the experts have to say? How many miles can you actually drive on?

Thanks,

Mike
  • 2003silverado's avatar
    2003silverado
    Explorer II
    Feb 21, 2017
    Thanks for the responses.

    My truck is is a 2012 gasser 2500hd Chevy. I have been watching a number of educational videos on YouTube about driving on the beach. I'll throw the proper equipment in the tool box in case we get stuck, and if it looks like it's going to be a battle to keep from getting stuck we may decide to rent a jeep, or just find other things to do. In general though I have never liked renting vehicles. From my research it looks like the difference between getting stuck repeatedly and having an easily time is letting the proper amount of air out of the tires.

    As mentioned above we need to avoid any salt water puddles because it's corrosive, but how much worse is the salt water than the heavily salted roads here in Michigan?
  • Campinghoss's avatar
    Campinghoss
    Explorer II
    Feb 21, 2017
    If your truck is a diesel you will certainly have to get the pressure down to drive the beaches. You might not have to release as much air if it is a gas model but you still need to get some air out. I have driven the beaches surf fishing with different models but now I only use my jeep with wide tires on it.

    If you just want to sight see I would do like other posters have suggested and rent a four x four to do that. If you see you really enjoy it then you can make a return trip with your truck and be better prepared.

    And yes there is a lot of beach you can drive on from Corolla to Cape Point including Ocracoke island. As someone else posted it is a large area.
  • wbwood's avatar
    wbwood
    Explorer
    Feb 20, 2017
    When we were there last summer, we saw a mixture of vehicles. Anything from SUV's to big jacked up trucks. The big trucks were the ones having the most difficult time. As mentioned about the permit, there are other requirements that you must have certain items when driving on the beach.

    I agree about the soft sand. It was very difficult for us to even walk on. I will look through our video files. I might have some video of the beach around the Oregon Inlet campground, where we stayed.
  • PawPaw_n_Gram's avatar
    PawPaw_n_Gram
    Explorer
    Feb 20, 2017
    The sand there is very soft. Getting to the harder wet sand can be a big challenge. I would suggest finding a keep rental place on the internet, call and talk to them.

    I didn't see any vehicles on the beach with normal highway tires. They all had oversized, extra wide tires with very low air pressure.
  • sharker6's avatar
    sharker6
    Explorer
    Feb 19, 2017
    And be ready for some rusted truck parts if you hit any water on the beach. Stay away from any 'puddles'. After a day driving the beach you need to rinse the undercarriage. Also, you'll need to air down your tires to 15/20 psi if the sand is powder like what's on Ocracoke. I've been surf fishing the OBX for around 10 years and learned the hard way.
  • 2003silverado's avatar
    2003silverado
    Explorer II
    Feb 19, 2017
    Great information, huachuca! That is exactly what I was looking for. I have been doing a lot of reading regarding the rules and regulations and permits of beach driving, but hardly anything about the distances.
  • huachuca's avatar
    huachuca
    Explorer
    Feb 19, 2017
    From the Virginia state line in the north to the southern tip of Ocracoke Island there is nearly a hundred miles of beach accessible by four wheel drive. The northern section extends roughly ten miles from Corolla to a locked gate barring entry into Virginia. No special permits are needed and you are likely to see the banker ponies in this area. Drive with care as stumps from a relic forest are sometimes exposed along the beach.

    The southern section is under the control of Cape Hatteras National Seashore and runs intermittently from Oregon Inlet to the ferry landing at Hatteras with breaks for Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and a few small village scattered along Hwy 12. The Seashore extends over to Ocracoke Island where another twenty miles or so of beach driving is available. You will need a permit from the NPS ($50 I think, good for a week) for any offroad driving on federal lands. Its likely some areas will be closed for turtle or bird nesting.

    Hope you enjoy your visit with us and let me know if you have more questions.
  • 2003silverado's avatar
    2003silverado
    Explorer II
    Feb 19, 2017
    We will be staying in Pamlico Sound. I know the entire beach doesn't allow driving, but am curious if there are enough driveable miles to warrant taking the truck.

    Thanks,

    Mike
  • naturist's avatar
    naturist
    Nomad
    Feb 19, 2017
    I'm no expert, but the times I've been there, you can't drive just anywhere on the beach. There are specific areas where it is allowed, but most places it is verboten. Where are you going to be? "The Outer Banks" is a large place.

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